Eric Newby and his wife set off around Ireland on their bikes in the 1980’s simply for the fun of it. Here he writes about their exploits cycling through rain and sunshine and sometimes aided by a pint of Guinness or three. If this doesn’t want to make you visit Ireland and on a bike then nothing else will!!

Synopsis

‘In the autumn of 1985, more or less on the spur of the moment, we decided to go back to Ireland. We were not going to travel in the guise of sociologists, journalists or contemporary historians. We were going there, we hoped, to be shot at. We were going there to enjoy ourselves, an unfashionable aspiration in the 1980s . . .’

When Eric and Wanda Newby set out to find Ireland they set out on two wheels apiece. Their chosen mode of transport was described by The Bicycle Buyer’s Bible as – in one case – a Crossfell and – in the other – a Wild Cat. To the Irish, they were simply ‘boikes’. A whole catalogue of expensive essentials extras later, one of the all-time greats of travel writing was equipped to journey round Ireland in low gear – with Wanda ‘to keep him out of trouble’.

Lashed by storms of winter, fuelled by Guinness and warmed by thermal underwear, they set out on their travels along the highways and byways of the Isle of Erin, with every pannier packed with maps, spare parts and a veritable library of books on Ireland’s stones and stories.

Reviews

‘Funny, revealing and thoroughly enjoyable’ Irish Independent

‘Another delightful book – and one, surely, without risk of imitation’ Sunday Times

About the Author

Eric Newby (1919 - 2006) was an English travel writer, one of the most prolific of the twentieth century. He served in the Black Watch and Special Boat Section from 1940 onwards, which took him to India, Egypt, and Sicily. This would launch his passion for travelling, which he would continue to do his entire life. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation